Teardrops
by Mrs.CaptainJackSparrow1234
Summary: He would never know the way she looked at him every day, with distant eyes that spoke of an even more distant heart.


Iggy likes Ella; Nudge is in love with him. A song-fic. Enjoy. =) The song is Teardrops on my Guitar by Taylor Swift. Review?

**Teardrops**

_Drew looks at me  
I fake a smile so he won't see  
What I want and I need  
And everything that we should be_

She'd known him her entire life. The earliest memories she held were full of pain and heart-ache, but his face was there in between it all. Even when he didn't smile, even when he was just as broken as she was, she still looked to him for comfort, and he always gave it to her. The smallest touch of his hand, the lightest brush of his shoulder, anything was enough to calm her racing heart and give her peace to sleep at night. He didn't even know it.

"Nudge."

The small girl jumped, falling backwards off the log she was resting on. Laughter reached her ears as she slowly sat up, rubbing the back of her aching head. Max reached over and plucked a leaf out of her hair, a small smirk turning up the corners of her lips as she let it fall back to the ground. A nervous laughed escaped Nudge's lips as she glanced around at her family, then turned her eyes back to the fire blazing in front of them.

"Nudge, you okay?" His voice reached her ears again and she turned towards the strawberry blonde looking at her with concern in his blind eyes. "You seem way out of it lately," He added, and a snort of laughter from the Gasman interrupted her response.

"Be grateful," the eight year old said. "She's not talking for once." Nudge's eyes narrowed at him, and she threw a stick that hit him square in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards with an 'oof'.

"I'm fine," She said, flashing a smile at Iggy. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but he couldn't see that, and finally just nodded, turning back to the Gasman as they picked up their conversation once more. Something about bombs, no doubt. But that wasn't what she heard as their voices drifted over the fire.

_I'll bet she's beautiful  
That girl he talks about  
And she's got everything  
That I have to live without_

"So, you and Ella, huh?" The Gasman asked suddenly. Was it just her, or did Iggy's pale cheeks seem to turn brighter at the mention of her name? Fang jumped in now, a smirk on his lips.

"Don't deny it, Ig," He said, nudging the other boy in the ribs. "We all see how flustered you get around her. You don't even know what she looks like, but you've got the hots for her, don't you?" He asked. The teasing pushed the right buttons; Iggy scowled, poking the fire with a stick he held in his hands, though he couldn't even see what he was doing.

"Shut up," He growled, keeping his eyes cast downward. His cheeks went even redder than a few moments before. "I do not." Fang chuckled and the Gasman snorted, but Nudge wasn't looking at them. She glanced down at the flames, her eyes watering, though by the smoke or something else it was hard to tell. Max bit her lip and cast Fang such an icy glare that he abruptly stopped laughing, a frown on his lips as he looked at her for an explanation. She glanced at Nudge, who was still watching the flames intently, wiping the back of her hand across her eyes angrily to stop the tears.

She stood up and mumbled a quick excuse about being tired before turning away from the flames, curling up in the damp grass a few feet away, where only her back and exposed feathers were dried by the heat. She pulled her knees up to her chest and closed her eyes tightly, but even being away from the smoke didn't stop the tears from falling.

_Drew talks to me_

_I laugh 'cause it's just so funny_

_But I can't even see_

_Anyone when he's with me_

Why couldn't he just open his eyes and see it? Sure, he was blind, but he saw more than any of them did. He could always be the one you could count on to sense danger before anyone else even knew it was coming, even with their strong vision. But then why was he so oblivious when it came to her?

He cracked another stupid joke with the Gasman, and despite herself, she laughed. His eyes turned in her direction and she quickly lowered herself, as if that could stop herself from blushing. She pushed herself harder, until she was gliding next to Max, the tips of their wings touching. The older girl turned to her and smiled slightly, but Nudge didn't see her. She kept her eyes cast downward, at the clouds passing by quickly below them. She was struggling not to look up and see those pale blue eyes again.

Another night brought another wooded area, another campfire to sit around and roast various things on a stick. Nudge wasn't very hungry, though; she excused herself and turned her back on the fire, taking refuge in the high branches of a tree. Her wings were scrunched up painfully against her back as she settled down in the crook of the tree, letting her legs hang down off the high branch. She turned her gaze upward, but saw nothing but darkness. There were no stars out tonight; the sky seemed even darker than usual. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face.

She shifted her weight on the branch, trying to get comfortable, when she heard movement below. She stiffened up immediately, but when she heard familiar voices she relaxed, but only slightly.

_He says he's so in love_

_He's finally got it right_

_I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night_

"Fang." It was Iggy's voice. Her heart rate picked up slightly and she closed her eyes tightly, mentally scolding herself as she willed her heart to slow down, as if they could hear its wild beating from the ground. His voice pulled her out of her thoughts again.

"How did you know that you…loved Max?" It seemed to take him great effort to get the words out of his mouth, almost as if he were choking on them. Her heart jumped up into her throat and she held her breath, sinking down lower on the branch as she waited for Fang's answer. She wished she could see them; maybe they had left already, to talk somewhere else. She was about to look when Fang's deep voice reached her ears.

"I don't know," He said finally, quietly. Nudge hadn't ever heard him sound that…vulnerable. "I just knew. I look at her and I see….everything." His voice was normally tight and controlled, but at the mention of Max's name he seemed to let his outer walls melt down, to show the man underneath. She didn't think he'd be this way in front of anyone but Iggy, and maybe Max herself. "I see a future," He said softly. "I see a reason to keep fighting everyday, a reason to get up in the morning. I see her all the time." He fell silent then, and Nudge sat up straighter on the branch, struggling to remain silent. After a few moments Iggy spoke again.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Got a girl in mind?" Fang asked, a teasing edge to his voice that sent knives through Nudge's heart.

"Maybe," Was all Iggy said, and she heard their footsteps as they headed back towards the fire and the rest of the flock. She slowly looked down at her hands, and though she couldn't see them, she knew they were shaking. She knew that it wasn't her that he was talking about. She knew that she wasn't the one that Iggy saw.

But he was all that she could ever see.

_He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar_

_The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star_

_He's the song in the car I keep singing_

_Don't know why I do_

It wasn't long before they all found themselves back at Dr. Martinez's, for what Max called 'some down-time.' Nudge was ecstatic to have a warm bed to sleep in and food to eat that didn't have to be roasted over a fire, but she also didn't want to see Ella. She held nothing against the girl herself; she was nice, talkative (though nowhere near as much as her) and sweet. But she had to watch the way Iggy fidgeted whenever she spoke, the way his cheeks turned pink every time someone mentioned her.

She went straight to the room she would share with Max and Angel, saying she felt sick. She didn't want to see him talk to her, see how she grinned at him and moved close enough that her shoulder brushed his.

She lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. The sun was just beginning to set, sending rays of pink, orange, and yellow into the room. Any other time she would have found it beautiful, but sunset only meant that night was that much closer. She didn't want to close her eyes; she already knew what she would see as soon as she did.

She thought that if she was mad at him, it would be easier to see him next to her, to see his face light up at the sound of her voice. But she couldn't stay mad at him; he'd crack a stupid joke, make a sarcastic remark, and she'd smile and be back at square one. He didn't even know what he did to her, how he had her wrapped around his finger like a puppet. Whenever she had nightmares, he had been there to comfort her, even when they were still in the lab. He was her crutch, the one she leaned on when she couldn't find the strength to stand on her own two feet. She had grown up, but she still looked to him when she needed something, whether it be advice or just someone to listen to her endless rambling. But somewhere along the way, she'd realized something else about him.

She loved him.

_Drew walks by me_

_Can he tell that I can't breathe?_

_And there he goes, so perfectly_

_The kind of flawless I wish I could be_

Every brush of the shoulder, every touch of the hand sent her heart spiraling. She couldn't look him in the eyes, even though she knew that he couldn't look back at her. During the days that passed, she put up a front, a façade; she smiled, she laughed, she talked. She did everything that she was expected to do, but she flinched away from the one person that she wanted to see the most.

She'd known for so long that he didn't look at her that way; she was his little sister, the annoying motor-mouth who had been thrust into his life. She knew that he cared for her, but she also knew that he could never look at her like she did him. And when they'd met Ella, she'd known right away that something had sparked between them, as soon as the first words escaped her lips. She knew that he was being taken away from her, little by little, drifting farther and farther away every day. She wished he knew how much of her he still held in the palm of his hand, and how tightly he was gripping it.

Everything he did was right to her, though she knew he was far from perfect. She knew there were cracks in his armor that needed to be filled, but she also knew that she couldn't be the one to fill them.

_She better hold him tight_

_Give him all her love_

_Look in those beautiful eyes_

_And know she's lucky 'cause_

It was dark outside; here, though, she could see every star clearly, illuminating the night sky like a painting she remembered seeing once in a magazine. Nudge snuck down the stairs quietly, struggling not to make a sound to wake anyone else. She rested her hand on the cool metal of the doorknob and was about to turn the knob when she heard soft voices coming from the other side. She jumped and quickly took a step back from the door, her palms sweating. She frowned, taking a step forward and pulling the door open a few inches, holding her breath as she silently willed the hinges not to squeak.

She would recognize that voice anywhere; she didn't need to see his face to realize who it was. She also knew who was sitting beside him on the porch, even without looking at her.

She kept the door only open a few inches, just enough for her to see them. She felt dirty, spying on them, but she also couldn't will herself to close the door and go back inside. Her wings ached, begging to be let out of confinement, to stretch out all of the aches and pains. She still couldn't move, though.

He was saying something, but she didn't know what; she was surprised he hadn't heard the door open. He was probably too absorbed in what he was doing, she thought distantly. He looked a wreck, as nervous as she'd ever seen him. Her stomach dropped as she watched the distance between them close. Even before their lips met, she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. She spun around and ran back up the stairs, taking them two at a time, no longer caring about being quiet. Tears blurred her vision as she raced into the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind her and turning the lock. Her heart felt as though it had sunk to the bottom of her chest. She slowly sunk down to the ground, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them tightly.

She should have seen it coming. She should have realized that her feelings were only one-way; she had known it all along, every time he spoke of her, every time he said her name, every time Fang threw a teasing comment his way. 'I see a reason to keep fighting everyday, a reason to get up in the morning. I see her all the time.' Fang's words echoed in her mind, repeating themselves over and over again until they held no meaning at all.

She knew who Iggy saw, and it wasn't her.

_He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star  
He's the song in the car I keep singing  
Don't know why I do_

He was happier. She could see it in the way he held himself up, the way he walked around with an air of confidence. No one else seemed to notice it; maybe it was only in her head, but he seemed different. He had a glow to him that she'd never seen in him before, not even when he was around her.

She knew that she wasn't the ideal person, the ideal girl even; she was still eleven years old, after all. She could never seem to shut her mouth, she always went on and on about the smallest things that often held little or no significance to others. She couldn't read people well and often ignored the signals they sent her way, seeing only what she wanted to see, as Max had often teasingly told her. But she was right; she wasn't the kind of person anyone, especially Iggy, would be interested in as anything more than a friend.

The wind was cold and biting against her skin as she pushed herself higher, until she felt as though she could touch the stars in the sky above her. She wondered what it'd be like to be so high; would she shine as brightly as them, she wondered? Or would her glow be dim, unnoticeable? She quickly shook the thoughts out of her head and tilted her wings to the left, turning slowly back towards the house. She could see two figures on the front porch again, and her heart leaped up into her throat as she caught sight of the familiar head of strawberry blonde hair. Two heads turned up in unison as she came to a clumsy, running stop on the ground in front of them, kicking up dirt that blended in with her dark skin. Iggy's face turned in her direction, and a smile crossed his features as he identified the girl standing in front of him without even seeing her.

"Nudge, what's going on? It's pretty late to be out, isn't it?" He asked. She bit her lip to keep from saying anything she would regret, and instead just shrugged.

"I guess so. I just couldn't sleep," She chirped, a smile on her lips. Ella's eyes met hers and for a moment, Nudge feared that she'd seen through her. But slowly she smiled back, and Nudge's eyes traveled down to where their hands lay intertwined in between them. She swallowed down the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat, but it wouldn't go away.

"I think I'll go to bed now," She said quietly. She could already feel her lips beginning to quiver, but she didn't return Ella's questioning gaze as she pushed past them and inside the house.

_So I drive home alone  
As I turn out the light  
I'll put his picture down  
And maybe get some sleep tonight_

He was happy. She knew that, and yet her heart still felt as though it were tied up in a knot. She was confused; she knew that she should be happy for him, to smile because he was smiling, but she wanted to be the one holding his hand, the one making him smile and light up the way Ella was able to. She didn't want to let go; she couldn't let go of the feelings she'd had for him all along, even if she'd only realized them recently. Things had been so simple before, but she'd ruined the casual friendship they'd always had.

She tossed and turned in bed that night, pushing back the tears that threatened to fall. Halfway through the night she saw Angel turn over in her sleep and meet her eyes for a split second, before closing them again. Her gaze had told her that she heard everything she'd been thinking, and Nudge slowly turned over, burying her face in her pillow to muffle the sound of her tears.

And yet it was still his face she saw behind her eyes. But this time, it gave no comfort.

_'Cause he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar  
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart  
He's the song in the car I keep singing  
Don't know why I do_

The morning light stung her eyes as she buried her face deeper into her pillow, mumbling incoherent bits about how she felt sick. She ignored Max's voice in her ear, and in the end heard her footsteps fade away slowly and the soft click of the lock as the door shut.

She lay for a few more minutes before slowly sitting up in bed. Her eyelids felt heavy, and all she wanted was to lay back down to sleep. She bit her lip and shook her head quickly, but it didn't help any. She slowly pulled herself out of bed, her bare feet hitting the cold wooden floor. A shiver ran down her spine as she quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had the least amount of holes in it, slowly making her way downstairs.

Iggy was sitting next to Ella at the kitchen table, both with an empty cereal bowl in front of them. She quickly turned her head away and walked into the livig room, where Max was talking to Dr. Martinez. She looked up in surprise as Nudge entered, a frown on her face.

"I thought you didn't feel good," She said slowly, and Nudge just shrugged.

"I think I'm better now," She said quietly. Max still looked concerned, but she didn't push it. She looked at her mom and nodded, then stood up and clapped her hands together, making Nudge jump.

"Okay, gang. Pack up your stuff. We're leaving today."

A chorus of moans and groans rang out from various members of the flock, but strangely enough, it was Iggy who remained silent. Nudge felt a small jump of her heart as she realized that this meant he would be away from Ella. She wasn't sure what that meant; she was…happy? Guilt quickly overtook any other emotion as she saw the look on his face as he sat still at the table, Ella still next to him, their hands intertwined underneath it._  
_

_He's the time taken up but there's never enough  
And he's all that I need to fall into_

The night brought with it a sense of comfort, but Nudge couldn't sleep. She was used to sleeping on the ground; it wasn't that that kept her up. She just couldn't seem to close her eyes, no matter how tired she was.

She slowly sat up, moving carefully so as not to disturb the others sleeping around her. Total shifted slightly in his sleep, and she thought she heard a mention of the word 'cat' in his mumblings. She shook her head slowly and glanced around at the rest of the flock, but one form was missing. Her heartbeat picked up quickly, but she soon found him, sitting near the edge of the hill and looking down at the city that they were now high above.

He looked broken. Her heart constricted tightly as she thought of the feeling of happiness she'd had earlier; was she really so selfish, to be happy when he looked like this? It was as if someone had ripped off one of his wings, leaving him battered and bleeding. She slowly crawled up next to him, and for once, she was silent as she gazed down at the city with him, knowing that she was the only one who could see it.

The silence hung thick in the air for what felt like an eternity to her, but finally she managed to break it.

"Iggy," She said quietly, and he turned his sightless gaze towards her. His face was downcast, and she bit her lip as she contemplated the words to say. Finally, she spoke.

"Don't be sad," She said quietly, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice. "We'll see her again soon," She said, trying to keep a smile on her face even though she knew that he couldn't see it. "And until then, you can know she'll always be safe, thinking about you just like you're thinking about her."

_Drew looks at me  
I fake a smile so he won't see_

"Thanks, Nudge," He said quietly, flashing her a quick smile that sent her heart racing. She laughed and nodded, a smile planted firmly on her face.

He would be happy with Ella. She could be the reason he fought, the reason he got up in the morning, the reason he fought. She could be his future. She could be his everything.

He would never know the way the eleven year old looked at him every day, with distant eyes that spoke of an even more distant heart.


End file.
